Sen. Elizabeth Warren took sides in two competitive Senate primaries Thursday, part of a broader drama that will reshape her party in a handful of key races — and push back party leaders in the most crucial battleground campaigns of 2026.
The Massachusetts senator on Thursday endorsed state Sen. Zach Walls in the Iowa Senate race and Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran in Maine. On Wednesday, he ran for state Sen. in a hotly contested Democratic Senate primary in Michigan. Malloy endorsed McMorrow.
Warren has put her stamp on other competitive Senate primaries, including Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Illinois Lt. Governor Julianna Stratton won the Democratic nomination in their state on Tuesday.
“The best way to make big, structural changes for less and root out corruption in Washington is to elect more fighters to the U.S. Senate,” Warren said in a statement to NBC News. “These candidates are inspiring people with authentic, grassroots-driven campaigns, and they’re ready to fight on behalf of working families squeezed by the rigged system.”
Warren’s preferred candidates generally support populist policies, are often critical of billionaires and corporations, and they reject contributions from corporate PACs. Warren described each as a “fighter” when he announced his endorsements.
Plattner’s endorsement puts Warren at odds with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party’s Senate campaign arm, which pitted Gov. Janet Mills against GOP Sen. Susan supports Collins to face him. The race is a must-win for Democrats hoping to flip the Senate with a net gain of four seats this November.
Earlier this year, Warren sharply criticized the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for failing to support candidates who, in her view, supported systemic economic change. DSCC Chairwoman Kirsten Gillibrand dismissed those criticisms, saying she was “focused on winning and finding the best, most exceptional candidate,” adding that the committee was “looking for fighters.”
The endorsement from Warren comes at a crucially important moment for Plattner after Mills launched his first attack against him this week. Mills released a TV ad that highlights social media posts from 2013 in which Plattner downplayed sexual assault. Plattner released a response ad, saying the comments were “words and statements that I abhor in my life, which I have struggled with deeply since returning from the war” and “I am not who I am.”
“Look, he’s apologized for it and he’s talking to the people of Maine every day,” Warren told HuffPost on Thursday.
Warren’s support will provide a helpful boost among progressive women voters as Platner tries to fend off those attacks, said one Democratic strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about primary dynamics.
“This is a progressive senator from a nearby state, a woman who has taken the lead on all these important issues,” the strategist said. “It’s the exact endorsement you want right now if you’re his campaign.
Aside from the Maine race, the DSCC has not publicly endorsed a candidate in other contested primaries in key Senate battlegrounds. But critics of the committee say party leaders have quietly indicated their priorities. The New York Times reports that a group of senators, including Warren, has formed a so-called “fight club” to play in the primaries and counter possible influence from the DSCC and party leadership, including Schumer.
“Neither Senator Warren nor I have ever shied away from a tough fight, and I’m very happy to have her in my corner,” Iowa State Senator Wahls said in an interview Thursday afternoon when asked about the senator’s criticism of the DSCC.
Walls said Warren’s endorsement Thursday is encouraging in her primary, where she faces state Rep. Josh Turek. Two of Warren’s Democratic Senate colleagues — Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, a former DSCC chairwoman, and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — endorsed Turek this week.
Walls and Warren have known each other for years. He endorsed his presidential campaign in 2019 after showing interest in an issue he was working on in the state legislature: protecting Iowans who live in mobile homes from investment firms looking to take over trailer parks.
“He’s willing to meet with my constituents and help advance this fight against these predatory companies on a national level,” said Wahls, who said he and Warren have been in contact “regularly” since his failed 2020 presidential run.
“When we started this campaign for Senate, he gave me great advice about how important it is to go everywhere, talk to everyone, think big about the challenges facing our state,” Walls said.
The Wahls aren’t the only supporters of Warren’s presidential campaign, who received an endorsement this week. Michigan State Senator McMorrow has also endorsed Warren for a 2020 run. McMorrow explained in a Substock post that he first connected with Warren by phone after McMorrow won his first state legislative race in 2018, and later wrote that they had “been close ever since” after endorsing Warren’s presidential campaign.
In supporting McMorrow, Warren joined another prominent progressive, Sen. Separated from Bernie Sanders. Sanders also endorsed Plattner in Maine but is supporting former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens is the other major candidate in that primary.
Like Sanders, Warren’s endorsement comes with a fundraising boost as she uses her substantial grassroots fundraising list to help the preferred candidates.
Wahls was already seeing that boost just hours after endorsing Warren, saying his campaign was on track to have its best fundraising day of the month and best of the entire quarter so far.
A McMorrow campaign official said Wednesday that Warren’s endorsement was one of the five best digital fundraising days for his campaign. Officials with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s Senate campaign in Minnesota and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s campaign in Illinois told NBC News that Warren’s endorsement came with a fundraising bump.
“This is huge for a campaign to build a grassroots digital fundraising program,” said Stratton, a senior member of the campaign team.
Warren has hit the campaign trail for her candidates, including Stratton, who won her primary on Tuesday. Warren campaigned with the Illinois lieutenant governor last week and appeared in social media videos with Stratton. In one video, Stratton showed Warren her “Persist” tattoo, when she agreed to Warren’s viral Senate floor moment in 2017, opposing then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., is the nominee for attorney general.
Warren campaigned with Flanagan in Minnesota in August, drawing a crowd of roughly 1,500 supporters a year before the state’s primary. Flanagan is the Rep. in a primary that has divided Senate Democrats and potential 2028 presidential hopefuls. Angie is competing against Craig.
Warren continues to play an active role in the Democratic Party, giving more than $400,000 from her campaign to nearly two dozen state parties earlier this year. Warren told Politico at the time that the investments were not an early sign that she was looking at another presidential campaign.
Asked if he would like to see him run for president again, Walls said he is focused on his own primary race, which comes up on June 2.
“I’ve been so focused on the next 74 days that I haven’t given 2028 an ounce of thought,” Wahls said. “If she runs, I think she could be a tremendous candidate again.”
